1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air bag system including an air bag that can cover a front surface side of a front pillar of a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there have been air bag systems in which an air bag is inflated to cover a front surface side of a front pillar of a vehicle so as to prevent a pedestrian from being brought into forcible direct contact with the front pillar when the vehicle hits the pedestrian (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).
In this conventional air bag system referred to above, an air bag, which is folded, is installed at a front edge side of a front side door, and an inflator for supplying an inflation gas into the air bag is disposed in a position in the front side door below a belt line. The inflator includes a supply pipe that is connected to the air bag for supplying the inflation gas into the air bag.    Patent Document 1: JP-A-2009-6957
In the conventional air bag system, however, the air bag, which is folded for storage, is mounted at a front edge side of a sash or window frame of the front side door that is in proximity to the front pillar or in a portion in an outside rearview mirror itself. These air bag mounting portions themselves are not so rigid, and there has still been room for improvement in mounting strength with which the air bag is mounted in the front side door in order to ensure a stable inflation form of the air bag. For example, in the event that the mounting strength of the air bag which is stored in a folded condition is low, the mounting portion is deformed when the air bag inflates, and the stable air bag supporting condition cannot be ensured any longer, which makes it difficult to ensure the predetermined form of covering the front pillar.
In addition, in the conventional air bag system, a space for the supply pipe extending from the inflator is necessary, and hence, there has still been room for improvement with respect to reduction in the installation space.